What's Next for the iPad Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil

The iPad lineup is getting a major overhaul in 2024, with Apple introducing two new iPad Pro models and two new iPad Air models. To go along with the new iPads, Apple plans to debut updated versions of both the Magic Keyboard and the Apple Pencil.

2021 Magic Keyboard Blue

Magic Keyboard

Apple is overhauling the Magic Keyboard, introducing a sturdier frame that's made from aluminum rather than the more malleable polyurethane material that the current version is crafted from.

magic keyboard yellow 1
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the aluminum design will allow an ‌iPad‌ and Magic Keyboard combo to more closely resemble one of Apple's MacBooks, which are also made from aluminum.

The frame and the area around the keyboard will be made from aluminum, while the exterior shell will have the same silicone cover material. Apple also plans to implement a larger trackpad that more closely resembles the trackpad of the MacBook to better mirror the experience of typing on and navigating on a Mac.

With Apple planning to adopt more premium materials for the Magic Keyboard, there is a chance that it could be more expensive than the current version, which is priced starting at $299.

Apple makes the Magic Keyboard in two sizes at the current time, and the accessory comes in either black or white. There hasn't been word on whether color options will change.

In 2024, the ‌iPad Air‌ is expected to come in both 10.9 and 12.9-inch sizes, while the next ‌iPad Pro‌ will be sized somewhere around 11.1 inches and 13 inches. The Magic Keyboards that Apple has in the works will likely fit both the ‌iPad Pro‌ and the ‌iPad Air‌, as the current 11-inch Magic Keyboard works for the 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ and the 10.9-inch ‌iPad Air‌.

Apple Pencil

While Apple introduced a USB-C ‌Apple Pencil‌ in November that is technically the third ‌Apple Pencil‌ to date, it is considered a lower-end, more affordable ‌Apple Pencil‌ because it lacks key features like pressure sensitivity.

black and white apple pencil feature
Apple is working on a "true" third-generation ‌Apple Pencil‌ that will be a full successor to the second-generation model. There have been a few ‌Apple Pencil‌ rumors over the last three years, but it's not entirely clear what we can expect or if what we've heard is accurate at this point.

In June 2020, leaker Mr. White said that the next-generation ‌Apple Pencil‌ would be available in black and white, but this rumor has not been repeated since. All ‌Apple Pencil‌ models to date have been white.

Leaker Majin Bu said in October that the ‌Apple Pencil‌ could feature interchangeable magnetic tips for different activities like drawing, painting, and technical sketches, but that rumor was in reference to the now-released USB-C ‌Apple Pencil‌ and it may have been inaccurate.

Apple in 2020 patented a color sensing technology that would let the ‌Apple Pencil‌ sample colors from the environment, and that would be an interesting addition, but we don't know if that functionality will make it into an ‌Apple Pencil‌.

Launch Date

The ‌iPad Air‌ and the ‌iPad Pro‌ are expected to get a refresh in early 2024, right around the March timeframe, so we could see the new Magic Keyboard and ‌Apple Pencil‌ at the same time.

Apple is expected to hold a spring event to introduce the new iPads and possibly the accessories.

Related Forum: iPad Accessories

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Top Rated Comments

tweaknmod Avatar
12 months ago
I love this site, but please stop stating rumours as if they were facts.

“Apple is overhauling the Magic Keyboard…”

This is a rumour, not a fact. Please present it as such - throughout the article.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
anthony13 Avatar
12 months ago
Making the Magic Keyboard even more expensive is about where I stopped reading.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JamieLannister Avatar
12 months ago
No one asked for a 'better Magic Keyboard' but a majority of people asked for a better file management browser, better multitasking, user profiles, and a host of other usability enhancements but no you give us some new Magic Keyboard that will cost more than a base iPad.

Attachment Image
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
erikkfi Avatar
12 months ago
Finally you can turn your iPad into an actual laptop that can only run programs approved by Apple.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Seanm87 Avatar
12 months ago

It can be both. The “Magic Keyboard” is no great shakes. There have been plenty of complaints about it since it was introduced.

But yeah. Giving iPad a real file management system? That should have happened YEARS ago. Apple won’t do it because they need you to buy a laptop too.
I don’t understand this argument. iPad has a file management system called Files app. I use it frequently, what does it not do for you?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Warped9 Avatar
12 months ago

how sheltered from the real world would you have to be to continue to use Magic Mouse or keyboard?
I'm being serious here, they are lackluster and way behind even mid tier mouse and keyboards.
Absurd. I have had zero issues with the Magic Mouse. I enjoy using it moreso than any other mouse I have set my hand upon.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)